The Ionia Department of Public Safety has released preliminary results of its investigation into the Sept. 18 double shooting that left two Ionia men dead on Steele Street.

The department is calling the incident "murder/nonnegligent manslaughter (voluntary)," and the report lists James Pullum, 43, and Robert Taylor, 56, both as victims and suspects.

Pullum and Taylor exchanged gunfire at Wonder Wand Auto Wash around 7 p.m. after a confrontation in the car wash parking lot.

Police said both men had valid licenses to carry concealed weapons (CCW) at the time of the shooting. Pullum had a Taurus 9mm Luger. Taylor had a North American Arms .22 caliber revolver, Black Widow Magnum model.

"Our investigation indicates that Pullum was shot first by Taylor from witness accounts, and this was confirmed through pathology reports of stippling around one of his gunshot wounds," said Troy Thomas, IDPS director.

Stippling is the pattern of gunpowder residue, which can help determine the firing distance and the angle of the gunshot, as well as the length and diameter of the gun barrel.

According to preliminary forensic autopsy findings, Pullum was shot three times: in the upper abdomen-lower chest area, shoulder and forearm. The fatal shot entered his upper abdomen and hit his liver and lower aorta.

Stippling around the fatal wound, about 6 inches in diameter, indicates the shot was fired from between 6 inches and 4 feet away, the pathologist said in the report. Two jacketed hollow point bullets were recovered, one from inside Pullum's abdomen and one from the muscle in his left shoulder.

"The stippling indicates that the shot was fired at close range, and that corroborates Mrs. Pullum's account," Thomas said.

Taylor died from a single gun shot wound to the chest, which passed through the upper part of his heart. The pathologists did not find gun shot resin or stippling on Taylor's body, but recovered a jacketed hollow point bullet from his left abdomen, the report said.

Final reports will be released after pathologists receive blood toxicology reports in eight to 10 weeks. Both autopsies were performed at Spectrum Blodgett Hospital in Grand Rapids.

The only eyewitnesses to the shooting were James Pullum's wife, Teri, and mother, Bernadine, who were in the car with him when the incident began.

Teri Pullum told investigators that they were returning from dinner and shopping, and planned to stop at the car wash. She said her husband noted as they drove past the Ionia Wash King Laundromat that the vehicle behind them, driven by Taylor, was following closely – so closely, she said, that she couldn't see the front bumper of Taylor's car. She told officers there had been no problem between the two vehicles and she didn't know why Taylor was tailgating. When the Pullums pulled into the car wash driveway, Taylor followed, she said.

Page 2 of 4 - Both men got out of their vehicles at about the same time, the report said Teri Pullum told police. She said her husband told Taylor "to stay off his ass," and James Pullum and Taylor exchanged words and were "almost nose to nose." One shoved the other – Teri Pullum said she could not see who pushed whom. Then Taylor reached on his right side, pulled out a small silver handgun and shot James Pullum "at almost point blank range," according to Teri Pullum. She said she saw Taylor shoot Pullum in the left shoulder.

As Teri Pullum called 911, she heard four or five gunshots, then saw her husband reach for his handgun as Taylor ran between the vehicles and toward the back of his (Taylor's) car, Teri Pullum told police. James Pullum began shooting at Taylor, and she recalled seeing the back window of Taylor's vehicle being shot out. She heard another four to six shots, she told officers, and when the gunfire stopped, James Pullum walked to the front of their car, told her to call the police and collapsed to the ground.

Thomas said at least six shots were accounted for by investigators.

Police interviewed two witnesses who did not see the shooting, but heard the gunshots and ran to the scene to help. One kicked the gun out of James Pullum's hand, but they did not move the other gun, which was already on the ground and out of reach.

First responders applied CPR at the scene to both James Pullum and Taylor. James Pullum was brought to the Sparrow Ionia Hospital emergency room first, and a short time later, Taylor was transported. Medical staff also "worked on" both men at the hospital for a short time, before each was pronounced dead.

According to the police report, video surveillance footage from Sheri's Restaurant and Schanski Dodge shows Taylor was traveling behind James Pullum and at a higher rate of speed than Pullum – and closing in, Thomas said – as they drove north on State Road.

"We still don't know what the catalyst for this was, whether something happened south of Schanski's," said Thomas.

Police said they found a "bag full" of nine medications – 2,306 pills, plus 10 unknown tablets in an unmarked bottle – prescribed to Robert Taylor, in the front passenger seat of his car on the night of the incident. The medications are used to treat a variety of medical conditions, such as pain, muscle spasms and hypertension, as well as anxiety, insomnia, depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, panic disorder, ADHD and PTSD, according to the manufacturers' and medical websites.

In addition, officers found an appointment card for one of the two physicians who prescribed his medications – a medical doctor who is board certified in adult, child and adolescent psychiatry and works at Sparrow Hospital in Lansing in Outpatient Behavioral Health. The back of the card indicated that "Robert" had an appointment scheduled for 2 p.m. Oct. 30.

Page 3 of 4 - According to the report, Taylor's spouse, Michelle Slocum-Taylor, told investigators that on the night of the shooting, her husband was supposed to have been coming back from visiting friends in the Bath area. She described her husband to investigators as "very kind and easy-going," said he had fallen and had issues with his neck, which he was taking pain medication for, and was scheduled to have surgery to correct a pinched nerve. When asked by investigators, Slocum-Taylor said Taylor's mental health was "good" and that she had spoken with his psychiatrist who told her she (the doctor) was as surprised as Slocum-Taylor was that Taylor was involved in the incident, and that Taylor "had been doing well."

The report notes that, after the shooting, a witness came forward to talk with law enforcement. He indicated that, in two conversations he had had with Taylor in April 2013, Taylor said he owned about 100 guns and talked about the militia, the NRA and conspiracies regarding governmental gun control, that he seemed confused and couldn't remember parts of their conversation.

Ionia County Prosecutor Ron Schafer said in September that while his office could receive copies of reports from the IDPS for a "courtesy review," his office otherwise will not have a role in the investigation.

"We don't get into any determination about whether there was an aggressor or analysis of violation of any criminal code," said Schafer.

Schafer addressed media reports that Taylor had had his CCW license revoked in November 2006 for three years following a conviction for operating while intoxicated (OWI), as required by state law – implying that Taylor should not have been given a new CCW license.

"He was not eligible for three years, and he didn't even submit a new application until November 2010," Schafer said. "He waited a year longer than required, at which time the only conviction on his criminal history was the (OWI) in 2006. As such, the gun board was required to give him a permit."

At the time Taylor was charged with the OWI, he had his gun in his vehicle, and he had a valid CCW license, Schafer said.

"In 2006, and the same is true today, our chief concern is prohibiting and preventing a repeat of drinking and driving," Schafer said. "The gun had nothing to do with the drunk driving arrest. He was entitled to have (the gun). We made him plead to the (OWI) charge to prevent anyone in the community from getting hurt. If there had been an allegation of misuse of the gun, we would have taken more action."

At the time of Taylor's arrest, there was no so-called "Super Drunk" law in Michigan requiring stiffer penalties, and Schafer's office could have reduced Taylor's OWI to a lesser charge of operating while impaired.

"We did not, and we still don't do that," Schafer said. "His other gun charge (for carrying the gun in his vehicle when he had consumed alcohol) was dismissed. It was also a 90-day misdemeanor, not a separate higher crime."

Page 4 of 4 - Had Schafer's office prosecuted Taylor on the gun charge, he could have lost his license permanently. At the time of his arrest, Taylor was 49.

"In his entire life he had no brushes with the law. Your chief concern then is preventing him from killing someone from drinking and driving," said Schafer. "He completed his probation, which is exactly what we wanted to happen. He had no more brushes with the law, and certainly no more drunk driving.

"Drunk driving is still by far more of a problem in society, with drunk drivers killing people every day," Schafer said.